A year with Severus and hermione
by Claude Amelia Song
Summary: This will feature 365 drabbles containing my OTP Severus/Snape and Hermione Granger. Written for Hogwarts 365 drabbles challenge.
1. Chapter 1 Her prince of darkness

**365 Drabbles: 89. Masquerade**

 **Writing Day - Write about someone acting the opposite of what another person expects, or having the opposite reaction to a piece of news.**

 **January Event The National Hobby Month: Ballet Dancing: Write about someone dancing.**

 **The ultimate Patronus Challenge. H.11. Horned serpent: write a story that takes place at a masquerade ball.**

 **The Daily prompt Thread 22nd - (quote) "The prince of darkness is a gentleman." - William Shakespeare**

 **Genre-Romance**

 **Word count:734**

Hermione felt herself getting nervous with each passing moment. The Masquerade Ball would start soon and she would have to dance with, Severus Prince, as her father's wishes. Her first public appearance with her fiance. She feared his reaction to this. He hated her,( or so she thought). He couldn't have taken lightly the news that they were betrothed.

"How do I look?" she asked her maidservant.

"Beautiful, milady. He won't be able to take his eyes off of you." she answered with a smile.

Hermione looked once more in the mirror and sighed. She had never been one to care much for her appearance, but he made her feel the need to look beautiful for him. She was in love with him, there was no denying it, she had been delighted when her parents had announced who her chosen husband was.

He captivated her in a way no one else had he was older than her, old enough to be her father some would say, but she had fallen in love with him. He was mysterious, unapproachable, he had a dark side that made her want him even more.

He had been a regular guest at the castle ever since she was a child. He should have been her tutor. Well, he _had been_ her tutor, but only in Alchemy. Still he had never seen her more than a child. (Not until recently anyway) Or if he did had never shown it.

"The prince of darkness is a gentleman." she murmured, putting her mask. He was her prince, but would she ever be his princess?

She wondered if tonight would be any different; yesterday he had behaved as cold as always with her.

The music stopped when she entered the ball.

"Continue," she said with a nod of her head. This wasn't her first ball, but she was as nervous as she had been back then. Even more so.

She looked around through the many costumes and masks hoping to notice him. Suddenly she felt a light tap on the shoulder. Turning around he recognized him instantly.

"May I have this dance?" he said in his deep voice, bowing in front of her her.

She felt herself going speechless; surely she was dreaming, he would never do this-ask her to the ball; she most certainly had not expected for him to ask her.

"Hermione?" he whispered and the sound of her name on his lips woke her up from her dream state.

"Yes." she murmured and it seemed that this was what he had been waiting for.

He took her hand in his and he put his other hand on her they started dancing and she had never felt more alive than in that moment.

"So you are to be my wife" he stated while twirling her around.

She nodded, leaning in his touch. They were one with the music.

"I take it you are not upset at the news."

She shook her head frantically.

"No, of course not. You must know that, that I…"

"That you love me. Yes, I do. I am aware from sometime of your feelings for me. And from my own feelings."

She looked at him surprised.

"You didn't know. I hadn't wanted for you to know. I hadn't hoped, I hadn't dreamed that your father would choose me. You hadn't expected me to dance with you."

"No, but I am glad you surprised me. I was worried at your reaction. I really hadn't expected for you to actually want to dance with me tonight. I thought I might have to drag you to the dance floor."

He smiled.

"Trust me, I want more than just dance with you," he said his eyes darkening slightly and making her blush,"Take your mask off" he whispered, taking his down.

"Why? It is a masquerade ball." she said.

"I want to see you, not a mask."

She nodded,taking her mask off.

"So beautiful,"he murmured pressing a light kiss on her hair.

She leaned into his touch, putting her head on his shoulder. They continued to dance all night, keeping each other tight.

Even when the music had long stopped the two of them hadn't noticed. They were lost in their own bubble and continued to dance, spinning around, one in each other's arms. And no one had the heart to tell them to stop.


	2. Chapter 2 Welcome

January Event: National Hobby Month:Making Model Airplanes: Set your story aboard an airplane.

365 Drabbles 318. Welcome

Genre:Romance

"Welcome to the board of The Irish Flyer for the flight to Australia. Thank you for choosing our company and we hope you have a pleasant experience in our airplane. Thank you."

"Stupid muggle" grumbled Severus taking his seat.

"Severus! You promised you would be nice. And it's not her fault that she isn't the most skilled with words. As you are. Nobody is as you anyway" said Hermione, smacking his arm lightly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I promised, didn't I? And I always keep my promises. After all that's why I have agreed to fly the muggle way to Sydney instead of portkeying there."

She smiled.

"True. And I couldn't appreciate more. Also thank you for coming with me to find my parents. I need you with me." she whispered leaning into him.

"Oh, love. We will find them. And I will always be with you." he replied kissing her hear.

"You almost weren't" she said remembering that just a month back she had almost lost him. Forever.

"Hermione stop! Please. I am here now and I am not going anywhere and we will find your parents. I promise. And I will be nice. I want them to like me." he said looking at her.

She smiled at him.

"They will love you." she stated planting a kiss on his lips.

He pulled back.

"Are you certain? If you would be my daughter, or had been a father and my daughter would come to me and say that she is dating her teacher, I would kill that bastard slowly and I would enjoy doing it. And that' what any father would do. Well one that would care about his daughter anyway. And your father cares about you. So he will want to kill me too." he finished looking at the ground.

Hermione sighed. He was starting again.

"Severus, please. Now it's my turn to tell you to stop thinking like this? They will absolutely love you and welcome you into the family. Trust me. I know them."

"Welcome me? Like that girl earlier? Or welcome me with a bullet in the head? Because certainly they would do something."

"Let the poor girl alone. And no they would welcome you with open arms." she said pleading for him to believe her. She was arguing with him about this ever since they had entered the airport the insecurity taking over his usually confident self.

"And what makes you say this?" he asked her softly.

"Because I love you. And anyone can see that you love me too. Even Ron saw it. They are my parents and they want me to be happy. When they will see how much you love me, how you behave with me and how you respect me and appreciate my opinions they will see you as a part of the family. Yes, they might be upset at the beginning, but as soon as they see the real you, they will fall in love too. That's it if they forgive me for obliviating them."

Severus smirked.

"They will forgive you. And welcome you with open arms."

Hermione laughed and put her head on his shoulder.


	3. Chapter 3 Second chance? Cobweb of lies

Warning!: I make reference to a rape curse and physical assault,if this bothers you don't read it.

The New Year Zodiac Writing Challenge: about a person with at least three of the following Characteristics: Honorable, philanthropic, determined, optimistic, sincere, sociable. Hermione Granger. She is determined, sincere, honorable, optimistic. In my opinion.

The Ultimate Patronus Challenge. 14. Phoenix: Write about someone who has been given a second chance.

Snake appreciation day:Write an AU where a non-Slytherin character is in Slytherin.

Optional prompts:Word: Behold;Emotion: Fear;Word: Fragile.

365 drabbles:

Word count: 793

"What is going on here?" Severus asked exiting his chambers. Outside greeted him a sight he will never forget. Hermione's body half naked and bloodied and three of his older Slytherins surrounding her.

They looked up startled.

"Professor Snape…" started to say

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" he shot at them, three wands flying in his hand and the three boys fell to the ground. Fear coursed through his veins. What if he was too late? Heart beating fast he rushed to Hermione's side

"Hermione, please be alright!Expecto Patronum! Find Madam Pomfrey and the Headmaster and bring them here!"

He couldn't lose her, not after everything. They hadn't come back here just for her to 've come to make a better world. This was their second chance.

"My goodness! Severus, what happened?" asked Albus while Poppy started tending to Hermione immediately.

"I exited my chambers and found them like this. I stunned them and called you. Is she going to be alright?" he asked directing the question to the mediwitch.

"Yes, but she needs rest and a lot of potions. She lost a lot of blood and she was hit with a rape curse, she may not comfortable with man or lots of people; the hospital wing is full due to the cold, I think …"

"I can take care of her." Severus rushed to say. All he wanted was to kiss Hermione and hold her, but he couldn't since the other were present. He hated seeing her so fragile, so broken.

Both Albus and Poppy looked at him like had suddenly two heads.

"She is a Slytherin, it is my duty. I won't let foolish Gryffindors near her." She had been a Gryffindor. In another life, he thought with bitterness. But that life hadn't turned out alright. They had lost the war and this was their chance to right things, but she shouldn't have convinced the Hat to sort her into his house. But they wanted to be together, closer.

No matter that her friends may not be her friends anymore. Of course they were. It seemed that the three of them were the best of friends anytime. Still it was hard for to pretend that she didn't know about them and to not slip about things happened for her and never for them. They were her friends, but they still they were not the same persons. She wasn't the same either. She was a Slytherin.

"Alright. But I will check on her weekly Severus!" said Poppy and left.

"I will take care of these young men. You take care of miss Granger."

Severus could only nod, not taking his eyes off of Hermione. It had been three years since they had come back and three years since hadn't kissed his wife. Wife or not he couldn't kiss a first year student. But now, when he almost lost her, he wanted much more than just a kiss.

He laid her gently on his bed and looked at her. So beautiful, so innocent, and still her innocence was long gone. It had disappeared with the Dark Lord's return.

He wished that Harry and Ron, the ones that had been at their wedding would be here, not the ones that…..

He knew that Hermione was feeling the same, but neither of them said anything. When Fate gives you a second chance and you complain, you may want to behold her wrath. And it could be much worse. At least they were together. It was a cobweb of lies and deception, but they will survive it. Together.

"Severus," Hermione murmured near him.

His heart skipped a bit. She was waking up.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed and kissed her on the lips.

She responded immediately and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled apart and she pouted.

"No, you're still young and hurt. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry, but me punching Draco was the last drop I assume."

"Never do this again. How am I supposed to go on without you.?

"Through the cobweb of lies?" she whispered against his cheek.

Severus smiled.

"I've thought the same thing"

She kissed him again.

"I know. With Harry and Ron's help." she answered.

"How? They are not our friends, they"

"No, they are. Our second chance is a do over chance. We just have to awake their memories. They have died just before we came here. There is a small chance that they have received the chance as well, but because they have died they just don't remember. We will have to be sneaky, but I trust we can do this."

"Yeah, sneaky is something I can do." answered Severus hugging her close.

Somehow they will manage. Somehow they will succeed. And the Dark Lord will die.


	4. Chapter 4 Again(the mystery of time)

Groundhog day: Prompt: Write about someone reliving the same day at least once.

Additional prompts:Word: Snore;Word: Key;Colour: Silver;Word: Tear

365 drabbles: 208. Morning

genre:Mystery

Word count: 728

"Hey"Hermione said turning around.

"Hey" exclaimed Severus surprised.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you would be up in the tower to celebrate with your housemates."

"You know how I feel about Quidditch. And besides I found this book in the library and I wanted to show it to you." she said flashing in front of him a silver and black book.

"A book? And here I thought you missed me" said Severus, not looking at her.

"Very funny. I saw you this morning. Remember? Or Slytherin losing the match has somehow affected your memory?" she asked with a smirk. She knew he was teasing, so, what was stopping her to tease back?

"Hmf!" Severus pouted.

"I cannot believe it! You pouted! What the world would say if they saw you like this? That you pout and even snore?" she asked amused.

"That I have gone crazy,or that I have lost my mind. And it's all because of you." he whispered leaning in and kissing her on the lips." And I do not snore" he added with a grumble.

"I shouldn't be with you" he said wrapping his arms around her."I shouldn't do this" he murmured kissing her again, this time more forcefully.

"Severus," she said and he pulled back.

"Don't start again"

He nodded and taking her hand they seated themselves on the sofa by the fire, the book forgotten.

The next morning they woke up in his bed, confused.

"Hadn't we fallen asleep on the sofa?" asked Hermione looking around.

"Yeah, and i hadn't changed in my pyjamas. How did we end up here?"

"Something must have happened, but what?"

"I don't know, but come on we'll be late for breakfast."

Arriving in the Great Hall both Hermione and Severus grew more confused hearing everyone talking about the 'upcoming' Quidditch match that had happened yesterday.

And midway to the Quidditch match that they had to attend a second time they realized that they were relieving exactly the same day as the one before with no changes at all. Even their replies were the same.

Late that night Hermione sneaked in again to see Severus. They needed to discuss

"What has just happened?" both exclaimed.

"We relived yesterday. But not 'what' we have to ask ourselves, but 'why' and 'how'?" said Hermione.

Severus nodded. Together they searched his library( one that rivaled the Hogwarts one) for a book that could help. They fell asleep between books.

The next morning they woke up in his bed, in pyjamas.

"Hermione"

"Yes?" she asked him still asleep.

"If I have to watch that Quidditch game one more time…."

"What?" she jumped out of the bed, noticing where they were.

"How did we ended up here again?"

"I do not know, but my guess is that we will be relieving yesterday again. And if we do not fix it we will do it again and again…" he said.

And his guess was proven correct. Both Severus and Hermione re-lived that Saturday four more times.

"That's it!" he said in the fiveth morning he woke up in his bedroom after falling asleep once again in the library.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" he sat up on the bed. "I'm giving up. I will spend the rest of my life seeing the same Quidditch game in the same miserable day." he wanted to tear something apart.

"Severus, I'm with you" said Hermione putting her arms around him.

"The only reason I haven't gone mad." he whispered kissing her.

That night Hermione came in gain like all the other nights.

"Hey, how are you feeling? Ready for tomorrow?"

"It's not funny Hermione. But yeah, I am. I am taking you out on a date."

Her eyes lighted up.

"Really?"

"Really"

She hugged him tight. Then, over his shoulder she noticed the book on the table.

"Severus? What's this?" she asked pointing at the book.

"That? The book you brought here to show me" he said looking confused.

"Severus, I have taken that book in the first day, it should be in the library now like all the things I took today, it should be at its original place. So why it is still here?"

After sharing a look they both rushed to the table to take the book. Perhaps this was the key

 _The mystery of time_


	5. Chapter 5 Wife

**Assignment : Asphodel Task #1: Write a Mythology!AU replicating the story of Hades and Persephone.**

 **March Event: Jewell Day Aventurine. Necklace: Write a Mythology!AU**

 **The Daily Thread:April 11 The Lava song**

 **365 Drabbles 117. Scythe**

 **Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter or the the lyrics of the song.**

Word count:1859

 _A long long time ago_  
 _There was a volcano_  
 _Living all alone in the middle of the sea_

Severus looked around the room and sighed. It really wasn't fair. He was all alone here with the dead while Sirius Black had everything up in the sky. And so did James Potter in the sea.

Both of his cousins were married with beautiful goddesses and they were not worthy of their wives. Luna was loyal and kind, dedicated and totally in love with Sirius;whereas him,he cheated on her with every woman on sight,he was cruel and most certainly didn't love her. He kept her around because it gave him power,the king of Olymp had to be married.

Lily was loyal and in love too,but James...well James was a better person than Sirius. Not that he hadn't had some extra conjugal affairs. Just that Lily held her own better than Luna,that girl was too kind for her own sake.

 _He sat high above his bay_  
 _Watching all the couples play_  
 _And wishing that he had someone too_

Severus wished for a wife too,but who would marry him? He was the Lord of the Dead, he lived in the Underworld, he was Death. He even had a scythe. So who would be brave enough to speak with him let alone to marry him? Sirius had joked on the last meeting in Olymp that the only way for him to get a wife was to kidnap one. But Severus couldn't do that,could he?

Could he live for the rest of his immortal life near a woman or a goddess who didn't want to be with him? Who would resent him for the rest of their lives? Could he?

 _I have a dream_  
 _I hope it will come true_  
 _That you're here with me_  
 _And I am here with you_  
 _I wish that the earth, sea, and the sky up above_  
 _Will send me someone to lava_

Severus didn't know for sure,but he knew he had dreamed about a perfect wife for years. He had hoped to find someone to make it true. And perhaps now was the time. Sirius' advice may have been a joke, but he was going to listen to it. He was tired of being alone. First of all he had to find the right girl. He didn't care if she was a woman or a goddess. He just wanted for her to feel right,to match him in every possible way. To be there for him when he needed her. To love him.

So he started searching. Severus cut off any goddess he knew,including the goddess of beauty and love,Narcissa. Besides she was dating Lucius,the war god. His eyes were on the mortal women.

…

Few months after his decision Severus decided to take a walk under the new moon. It was dark and there were no stars. It was perfect for him. He didn't like the light,he couldn't stand it. One it reminded him too much if the Olymp and second it hurt to see what he could never have.

Sure he could take strolls out in the open once in a very long while but he wasn't allowed to leave for more days or to just "quit". He couldn't. He was stuck in his palace of darkness.

 _Years of singing all alone_  
 _Turned his lava into stone_  
 _Until he was on the brink of extinction_  
 _But little did he know_  
 _That living in the sea below_  
 _Another volcano_  
 _Was listening to his song_

Severus wasn't paying attention to his surroundings,his mind thinking hard of what he would do in the appropriate future. He wanted to give up searching.

Then he saw her. She was so beautiful that he thought her to be a goddess. She was lying on the grass, bloodied and cold. But she wasn't dead. The scythe hadn't warned in his hand and he didn't feel the need,the urge to kiss her soul away. He didn't want to.

She looked different than any other woman he had ever seen. He felt attracted to her and that was curious. Severus had resisted Narcissa's charms and now he felt for a human? He had thought that nothing could move him any longer after the one hundredth girl refused his marriage proposal.

He decided to help. He could feel his scythe warming up that meant she was slowly dying. Severus moved closer and took her hand. What he hadn't expected was for her to be conscious and to try and escape him. Or to fight him the way she did. The girl was on the verge of death and she screamed and kicked as a newborn.

Still she was no match for him. She was just a mortal after all. So he took her in his arms and brought her to his home. To the Underworld. It didn't take much for her screams to become sobs and for her kicks to stop.

He put her into one his guest rooms and then left to bring her some food. Food from the outside world. If he he gave her anything from his food… she would remain there forever. And Severus wasn't sure if he wished for her to stay or or not.

He attended to her about three months, time they become friends. She was a very intelligent girl and she could match him perfectly. He found a lot of things about her, she had told him her life story,even if he hadn't told his. She knew the basics anyway. Every human did. So what was the point? Boring her to death?l

Little did he know that the girl wanted for him to speak,she wanted to know more about him,not the Ruler of the Underworld. She could see that he was very different than how the others portrayed him to be gods and humans alike. Sure he looked , he had been as He was compassionate and he had tenderness in his eyes when he looked at her… Every time he looked at her she was melting inside.

But why? He had kidnapped her,he was keeping her locked in his palace… So why did she feel this way?

Because he had showed kindness too. Because he had saved her and because her heart knew better. His eyes spoke more than his words could ever say. She understood what they told her,but she wasn't sure if it was the right choice.

 _Everyday she heard his tune_  
 _Her lava grew and grew_  
 _Because she believed his song was meant for her_  
 _Now she was so ready to meet him above the sea_  
 _As he sang his song of hope for the last time_

"Why did you take me?"she asked one day when he came to bring her food.

Severus put the plate down and looked at her.

"I don't know" was his answer. And he really didn't know why. He didn't even know her name!

 _I have a dream_  
 _I hope it will come true_  
 _That you're here with me_  
 _And I am here with you_  
 _I wish that the earth, sea, and the sky up above_  
 _Will send me someone to lava_

"I wanted...I want…"he started to say,but he couldn't finish. He couldn't stand another rejection. He had feelings even if he was Death. And it hurt.

"Yes?" she said and moved closer to him.

She was so beautiful.

"Let's start over; I am Hermione," she said looking at him,searching for his eyes. But he was looking at the floor.

Severus wanted to answer,but no words came from his mouth. He didn't have the courage to speak any longer. One hundred and one rejection?he couldn't cope with it.

 _Rising from the sea below_  
 _Stood a lovely volcano_  
 _Looking all around_  
 _But she could not see him_  
 _He tried to sing to let her know_  
 _That she was not there alone_  
 _But with no lava, his song was all gone_  
 _He filled the sea with his tears_  
 _Watched his dreams disappear_  
 _As she remembered what his song meant to her_

The girl,Hermione was his last chance,and he couldn't even speak with her. He had no more life in him to do so. Perhaps his dreams would never come true. On the plate there was a strawberry from the Underworld,if she ate it she would stay with him forever. He wanted her to stay, but did she?

He reasoned that she did otherwise she wouldn't be standing in front of him with that look in her eyes. She had to wish it too.

Finally he found enough power to try one more time. This time he would carry Sirius'advice in all it contained. He had kidnapped her. And now he was going yo give get food from his world so she would need to stay there forever. No more rejections. He had been a fool to wait so long to apply it. He had asked nicely and he had been rejected.

"I am Severus,the Lord of the Dead,king of the Underworld"

Hermione smiled.

"I know"

Of course she did. Who didn't?

"I brought you some fruits. Eat" he said.

Hermione watched the fruits carefully. Then she exclaimed

"Strawberries!"and she took one immediately.

Severus smiled a little. Now was the moment to ask her. She deserved to be asked even if she didn't have a choice any longer.

"Will you marry me?"

She looked at him stunned. He wanted to marry her?

"Why?"

"It had always been my dream to be married,to have a wife…"he couldn't believe that he had told her the truth.

Hermione smiled and hugged him,taking him by surprise.

"I will" she answered surprising him even more.

"You will?"

"Yes, you silly man,I will. I don't know if you've realized but I have fallen for you. That's why I ate the strawberry. When I saw it I knew you want me to stay here with you. And that meant you wanted me. My parents won't be pleased, but I do not care. I want yo be your wife"

Severus could only wrap his arms around her and kiss her softly on the lips.

He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Sirius will have a fit knowing that his advice had helped him indeed. He had found his other half. And he will be as loyal as she,he wouldn't break her trust in him.

 _Oh they were so happy_  
 _To finally meet above the sea_  
 _All together now their lava grew and grew_  
 _No longer are they all alone_  
 _With Aloha as their new home_  
 _And when you go and visit them this is what they sing_

 _I have a dream I hope it will come true_  
 _That you will grow old with me, and I will grow old with you_  
 _We thank the earth, sea, and the sky we thank too_  
 _I lava you_  
 _I lava you_

He would have to send him an invitation for the wedding.


	6. Chapter 6 Still me

Warming: student/teacher relationship. Hermione is off age though.

Assignment 12 Charms- The Disillusionment Charm

Task: Write about someone taking on a disguise.

Optional prompt:(Lyric) "You're the light to my darkness" ~ You Make Me Whole, Steps

May Event:Flower Picking season

F10/Primrose - (word) Laughter

365 Drabbles : 179. insane

Word count: 603

Betaed by Sam. Thank you!

Severus looked at Hermione and smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" the girl asked. She was curious to find out her boyfriend's reason for smiling since he had been gloomy and dark all day.

"You're still you. Even if your hair is straight and red, even if you got makeup, underneath all of this it's still you, my Hermione." he said, staring at her. "I didn't think I would still see you as you."

"That's why you were so upset? Because you thought I would be someone else? Severus, you knew it would be just a disguise, I'm not drinking Polyjuice!"

"I knew. But there's a difference between knowing and believing it. And I hadn't actually believed it up until this moment when I saw your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Yes, they are the same. You changed everything about you - the hair, the face, even your body and the way you move and talk - but your eyes, they are unchanged. It may be stupid of me for thinking this way, but I thought that kissing you while looking like this would mean that I betrayed you, as Hermione. Now I know that isn't the case."

Hermione laughed at this; she couldn't help it. And her laughter was music to Severus' ears. He loved it when she laughed. It made him happy, too.

"Though," he continued, "I still think you are insane, utterly and completely insane because you want to do this. It's too dangerous," he stated, the smile disappearing from his face. He had never agreed with this plan of hers in the first place. Trying to infiltrate the Death Eaters as a new Potion Mistress wasn't a good idea at all in his opinion, considering that she had no diplomas or recommendations to give to the Dark Lord and Severus was the best Potions Master in recent history.

"Of course it's still me. If you told me that my disguise was the cause of your distress, I would have been able to calm you, rather than you making students cry."

"I'm sorry. I know, but I didn't know how to cope with this. I'm so afraid that I will lose you. That we will fail, that I won't be able to back you up. And I didn't know how to cope with this change. I know it's just a disguise, but… I didn't want you to change. As I said, it felt like betraying you. But I've realised now that I was wrong. I will love you no matter how you look and you would do the same. It's not a betrayal. It's me proving I love you past your looks. And I do. Trust me. I love you for you, Hermione. You're my everything. The reason I haven't given up yet, you're the light to my darkness and I promise that I will do everything in my power to protect you."

Hermione was speechless. Severus had never revealed his feelings in so many words, nor had he ever told her he loved her so many times in one go; his 'I love you's were very rare and precious.

She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her like she was his lifeline and she really was.

They made a strange sight. Severus Snape, the most feared professor at Hogwarts was hugging a red-haired girl with big brown eyes who was hugging him back. It was good that no one had access to his chambers; otherwise, they would have gotten a heart attack upon discovering the girl's identity: Seventh Year student and Head Girl, Hermione Jean Granger.


	7. Chapter Old fashioned

Assignment 12 Potions: Cauldrons

Task #2: Write about something old-fashioned.

365 Drabbles 76. Daughter

Word count: 682

Betaed by Sam. Thank you.

Severus Snape was a proper gentleman, of that Hermione was certain of. He treated her like she was a princes.

He was always polite and addressed her with respect. It was hard to believe from the outside that the same man who made the first years cry and terrified them could be so sweet and caring. And nobody could believe that Severus Snape, the Death Eater, was so, so... proper with her.

He had charmed her parents right away, he who had been a nervous wreck the whole time since finding out that they were going to visit them up until her father had told him to stop worrying.

If he was asked who she was to him, Severus always answered 'my intended'. Or 'my everything, the love of my life'. And by doing so, he made her blush; nobody had ever talked about her in the way he did, like she was the most precious thing in the world to him.

Also, it made her feel guilty. She didn't know what to call him. 'My intended' sounded so old fashioned and … it didn't feel right on her tongue. But neither did boyfriend. It was too juvenile for him. He was the man who had been courting her for almost three years now for goodness sake! Courting her! Courting!

And now he was going to ask her parents for her hand in marriage. He was going to ask her father before asking her! Because that was the proper way!

Hermione didn't particularly like it. She didn't need her parents' approval to marry him. Having it was a bonus. Asking them for the right to ask her wasn't very proper anymore, but Severus was stubborn. He wanted to ask her parents and he was going to ask them. No discussions on her part.

It wasn't like they were going to refuse. They absolutely loved him. True, at the beginning they had been sceptical; after all, he had been her professor and not a very nice one. But he had won them over in no time with his charming attitude. The end of the war had also brought down the mask he had had to put on.

So even if she didn't like it, she was accepting it. It made him happy.

"Hermione, are you alright?" asked her mother concerned.

And Hermione didn't blame her. She had been lost in thought throughout the dinner and Severus was again a nervous wreck.

"I'm alright, Mum. I'm going to check on the cake, I'll be back shortly," she said and took off to the kitchen.

Still, she could hear Severus clearing his throat.

"Jason, Miranda, I would like to ask you something." "Sure," her father said, "Go ahead. "

Severus stood up. "I would like to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage. I love her. She is my everything. My life. Without her, I wouldn't be here alive. She doesn't like the fact that I asked you, but I want and need your permission. Your blessing. It's good if a couple has the parents' blessing before marrying. This was my mother's last bit of advice before dying and I believe it to be true even if it's an old practice. Nobody asks for the daughter's hand from her parents anymore, I know that. But I don't ask for her hand to stop her liberty, her independence as a human being. Or as a woman. Hermione is one of the most independent people I know. So she says no, that will be it no, but I…"

Hermione couldn't take it any longer. Cake forgotten, she strode over to him and promptly kissed him on the lips. "Did you really think I would say no? You're my everything too, you know. Otherwise, the whole courting thing and asking for my hand in marriage; it would have never happened. Old fashioned it may be, but you were so sweet about it, so ...you. How do you think I could ever say no? I am in love you, Severus Snape. And I cannot wait to be your wife."


	8. Chapter 8 Blood moon: Soulmate spell

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 1: Write about someone casting a spell (or getting a spell cast) to find their soulmate.  
Optional prompts:  
(Object) quill  
(Setting) A Hogwarts Common Room  
(Event) Yule Ball

The Lipstick Day: 14. Blood Moon

365 drabbles: 358. Dance

Words: 618

Hermione looked at the castle in front of her and sighed. Hogwarts was as beautiful as ever, no one would say that there had been a battle there just a year and a half ago. And yet there had been one and she and many others had been part of it.

Now, she was standing at the entrance and admiring the view. It was all covered in snow and shone brightly in the moonlight. But not for long since tonight was going to be a blood moon.

She hadn't wanted to come for that reason only, but she had to since tonight was also the Yule Ball held in honour of the fallen ones in the battle. And she was one third of the Golden Trio, she had to come. Beside, she could make use of the blood moon at Hogwarts too.

Hermione entered the Great Hall with a sense of nostalgia. She hadn't been here ever since that fateful night of May the second. Many had expected her to return, to finish her studies, but she couldn't. There were too many memories here that haunted her. Too many faces on these walls. She had come back, right after to help with the injured ones and to search for the bodies. She had been the one to discover that Severus Snape was still alive. She had literally saved his life, but there was one life against many she couldn't save.

After that she had left and never returned. And neither did Harry and Ron. The three of them had started working at the Ministry, their year on the run counting as the seventh year of school in their case.

Harry and Ginny were again in a relationship, but she and Ron had decided that they were better off friends. Now he was dating Luna and they were quite happy together.

She was the only one alone, not because if the lack of suitors, but rather of her not finding the right one. Ever since she was little Hermione had this dream to marry her soulmate, because she believed that her parents had been soulmates. She had searched for one ever since she had learnt she was a witch and finally she had found out a spell that showed you your soulmate, but you needed to cast it on a blood moon night. And that was tonight.

She smiled and nodded to the familiar faces who were dancing at the ball and she politely declined any dance invitations. She didn't want to dance, she wanted to leave so she could cast the spell. The blood moon would be soon up, it was a magical event that happened once in a hundred years. The full moon would change in a bloody one.

When both Harry and Ron went to dance she left and went to the highest tower: The Gryffindor Tower. The Fat lady smiled and opened the door, no password being entered her old common room and smiled. It had been so long.

She took a quill out of her bag and parchment and wrote the spell. Then she went and opened the windows, the blood moon was up.

She closed her eyes and whispered the spell, while thinking how much she wished to find her soulmate.

The wind untied her hair, letting it free and she suddenly opened her eyes and smiled.

Her soulmate was a man she had been in love with for so long.

Hermione took her bag and exited the common room. She had planned to leave the Ball early, but now she a had a reason to stay: the Deputy Headmaster Severus Snape. She was going to invite him for a dance.


	9. Chapter 9 Name on my wrist: soulmate

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 2: Your soulmate's name is written on your wrist.

365 Drabbles: 267. Ignorant

Word count:623

Ever since she had been born Hermione's parents had known that she was special, ever since they had noticed the name imprinted in a heart on her wrist. They had seen something like this only once. Rosetta Stone the grand-grandmother of the little one had been born with an identical mark too, just that there had been written Roberto Granger, the man she had been married for over sixty years, her other half as she often said.

Roberto had a mark too. But in the heart was not written the whole name, just one and it had been hazy until their wedding day. He couldn't see the name.

They knew in their hearts that the person whose name was written on their daughters wrist was her soulmate and couldn't wait to find him.

Hermione knew too so when she had received her Hogwarts letter she had been beyond ecstatic. The name may have been unusual for muggles,as professor McGonagall had named those without magic, but sure in the magical world…

She had been relieved to see that all the girls had their soulmate's name written on their wrists and that on the boys marks you couldn't read the name, as her grand-grandmother had said. Apparently she was a witch too, but she had never said anything until her Hogwarts letter came because there had been cases in history where even muggles were given the honour to know their soulmate. But Hermione was a witch and that made things easier. She had told Hermione everything she needed to know about soulmates and how some girls decide to just ignore the mark and never look for the person written there.

But Hermione couldn't be ignorant. The name on her wrist attracted her and she dreamed of the person who was behind it each night, despite of her young age she felt that she already loved that person for the simple fact that he was her soulmate.

But all her thoughts to not be ignorant flew out of the window in her first night at Hogwarts. She had hidden her mark, not wanting to let anyone see it; it didn't feel right. Why should they know who her soulmate was?

And good thing that she had done so. She had overheard the conversation between Harry Potter and the Gryffindor prefect,Percy Weasley and she had learnt that Severus Snape, the name written on her wrist, was the name of the Hogwarts Potions Master and Slytherin Head of House.

Still no matter how hard she had tried, she couldn't be ignorant. That man who was so nasty in class, who was cruel to his students and who was twenty years her senior was supposed to be her soulmate. She had to know him better. To see if she could love him. She couldn't give on the idea of marrying her soulmate and grow old with him as her grand-grandmother had done so.

She had at least to try.

…

 _8 years later_

Severus looked at his wife and smiled. She was so he glanced at the name written on his wrist and for the umpteenth time he felt grateful that the name had been hidden from his sight until they had been married. If he had seen it before when he had first saw her he would have run and never looked back or he would have made everything in his power to make her hate him.

Also he was thankful that she had chosen him.

Hermione looked at her husband and couldn't help but smile. They probably looked like two idiots standing there on the balcony staring at one another and smiling at each other, but they were two idiots in love.


	10. Chapter 10 Soulmate: share your pain

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 4: You can take away some of your soulmate's pain for yourself.

Note: Hermione is off age.

365 Drabbles: 98. Weekend

Word count: 301

Hermione paced the room worriedly. Severus had closed the connection between them when he had entered the Malfoy Manor and that worried her. The Dark Lord had called him before on Friday nights, but never right after classes and so soon. Severus had been called two nights ago at the general Death Eater meeting. He shouldn't have been called again.

She couldn't even feel his emotions through the bond, she hadn't thought that it was possible to use Occlumency to block your soulmate out of your mind, but apparently Severus could do it

Hermione knew he had done it so she could go to sleep and focus on the next day, but honestly, did he really think she could go to sleep while he was away? And it was weekend anyway. No classes to go for her and no students to teach for him. They could spend it together.

"But won't your housemates ask where you've gone?" asked a tired voice startling her.

"Severus!" she exclaimed. She still couldn't feel him.

"Severus you let me in right now!" she said and glared at him.

He sighed, but gave in. He didn't have the power anymore.

Hermione gasped. So much pain radiated from him!

She turned and hugged him tight and slowly she could feel the tension leaving him. Now she was sharing his pain, but it hurt less than to see him suffering. She loved him so much.

"What are you doing?"he asked, trying to break the connection once more. "You shouldn't feel the pain," he protested when she didn't let go.

"But I do, Severus. You're my soulmate, my other half. We share everything, so why shouldn't I share your pain too? I love you, and if I can ease your pain I will gladly do it, my love. "


	11. Chapter 11 Again: I want my colors again

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge  
Day 5: People can't see colour until they meet their soulmate.  
Optional prompts:  
(Event) Birthday (Setting) Hogsmeade

365 Drabbles: 91. Necklace

Word count: 520

Severus woke up and looked around. He was in his chambers at Hogwarts and everything was black and white! He couldn't believe that it worked! They had done it! They had traveled back in time! Well, he did. He sure hoped that Hermione had come back too. He didn't want to pass through all the soulmate discovery again. Back in her original first year he had horrified when upon landing his eyes on a first year Hermione Granger his black and white girl had turned into the most colourful world.

Now, however he would be horrified to discover that his wife of ten years hadn't manage to come back with him and he would have to fix the future by himself. And beside that he would also have to deal with an almost twelve years old Hermione that didn't know him, the real him.

He would find out tomorrow. They had decided that they would meet up in Hogsmeade to celebrate her birthday before the starting of the school year. If they didn't messed up the dates. Severus checked the calendar and sighed with relief. They hadn't.

He got out of bed and started his day. He had to maintain the facade of normalcy. Severus knew that if they were to succeed in changing the future they had to be very careful, to follow the plans they had made before coming back.

Tomorrow couldn't come sooner for him.

…

Severus strolled on the Hogsmeade streets, careful so no one would notice his nervosity. What if she didn't come?

Also it was a bit strange to walk in a black and white world again after seventeen years in a world full of colors.

And then as he passed The Three Broomsticks he saw her and his world became colourful again. He wanted to run and kiss her, but he couldn't. He had a reputation to maintain and wife or not she was an eleven soon to be twelve years old girl. They wouldn't do anything of the sorts until she was at least five years older.

He headed to the back of Zonko and saw her again. And she smiled at him. It was his Hermione!

He smiled too and went to hug her.

"Happy birthday,my love!" he said and took a box from under his robes.

Hermione opened it and she smiled even more. There was her wedding ring and a beautiful necklace.

"Severus, you shouldn't have bought me the necklace! The ring was enough! "

He shook his head.

"No, it's your birthday, well it's going to be and I want to celebrate it; the ring is yours anyway. We're going to dinner tonight. I had booked us a place at your favorite restaurant. "

Hermione hugged him tight, not daring to kiss him, remembering his rules from before coming back in time.

"Thank you! I will talk with my parents and then I will wait for you in my garden."

"Okay then."

He turned to leave.

"Severus, do you think we'll succeed? That we'll save them?"

"We have to, my love. We have too."

And with that he left.


	12. Chapter 12 Soulmate: share your colour

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 6: If your soulmate dyes their hair, your hair changes colour too.  
Optional Prompts:  
(Word) Cookie  
(Dialogue) "Shall we take a leisurely stroll through the garden, just you and me?"  
(object) mirror

365 Drabbles: 231. Carrot.

Word count: 526

Severus couldn't believe his eyes. He looked in the mirror again; the image did not change. His usual black hair was bright orange and green. He looked again and still no change. His hair looked like a carrot.

He didn't understand how that happened. He was sleeping when he had heard Hermione's rage through their bond. So he had waken up and dressed up to go to her, to calm her down. He didn't know what had gotten her so angry, she didn't let the bond open when she knew that he was sleeping as not to wake him, but this time it seemed that her fury could not be hidden.

And as he passed the mirror he had noticed the disaster his hair was in. He had dropped the cookie he had had in hand at the time, too shocked to even form words. He couldn't believe it. He had tried to change it back, to no avail.

He couldn't go our like this! He had to do something, but no glamour had worked so far! And he needed to find Hermione. Severus had a feeling that his carrot coloured hair had something to do with her rage.

He got his answers soon enough, though at that moment nothing was soon enough for him, when a furious Hermione stormed in his chambers. To his surprise, her hair had exactly the same colours like his. He raised an eyebrow, momentarily forgetting that he was in the exact same situation.

"What happened?"they both said at the same time.

Hermione sighed.

"I don't know, it must be a soulmate thing. My hair got dyed so did yours." she said and sat down.

"Another one?" he asked; the other time they had discovered that soulmates could teleport to each other if they wished hard enough. Safe to say, Severus had learnt to not think about wanting to keep Hermione in his arms.

"How did your hair got dyed?"

Hermione groaned.

"Fred and George. They tricked me. I had to go to Harry to give him some office papers and they were having a family dinner and they asked me to stay. I got seated between the two of them and Percy. The later started to tell me about his upcoming project, but as interesting as that is I was too tired to listen to it and when Fred had stood up and asked me

'Shall we take a leisurely stroll through the garden, just you and me?' I said yes! I thought he wanted to ask me again to help him with their new products; they had done so before. But no, he just distracted me so George could test their new product- a special hair dye- on me. It worked. And now I look like a carrot."

Severus chuckled.

"What's so funny? You are in the same situation as me."

Severus shook his head.

"I know, I was chuckling because I thought the same thing, you know, that I looked like a carrot."

Hermione smiled at this.

"And," Severus added,"don't worry. They are going to pay for this. "

Both of them shared a look and grinned.


	13. Chapter 13

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 7: There's a timer on your wrist that counts down to the moment you meet your soulmate.  
Optional Prompts:  
(AU) Single Parent  
(Word) Secret

365 Drabbles: 272. Chivalry  
Word count: 437

Severus looked at his timer and sighed. He didn't know what happened but while it had showed one year two days ago, now it showed mere hours. He didn't understand how that could change. He had never heard if something like that before; the time when one would meet his soulmate had never changed for anyone in the Wizarding World ever since soulmates existed. The time showed at birth flowed without a change until you actually met your soulmate.

He had heard that finding one was magical. Severus had knew that Lily wasn't his soulmate, as much as she knew that James was his and all her refusals were for noth. He hadn't hated him, really he was just so annoying.

The timer said that he would meet his soulmate in ten minutes but he was in the at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. And there was absolute no one in sight.

Then he heard the crash.

…

Hermione didn't know what she would if the spell didn't work. She had been alone for so long. Sure, she had Rosie and her husband painting, but every time she saw them the pain of losing him came back in full force. And each time it hurt even more.

It wasn't easy to be a single parent in a world where those like her were not even tolerated, a world where your best friends had died to save you and your daughter. Where your husband, your soul had died to protect you without even getting to know his unborn child.

But Hermione had found a spell in a very old book, a spell that could send you back in time. And she was going to try to send her and her daughter with a year before her first year. Severus would be there, she knew it. Her only hope that the spell would work was the restart of her timer. And until then it had never been wrong. She knew that when she went back her younger self would disappear and she had to pretend to be a 11 year old if she wanted to keep her friends. That and to keep her daughter a secret. The only persons who would know were Severus and the Headmaster.

Her timer said that he would be the first person she would meet and couldn't be more nervous.

When the timer was saying one minute she took Rosie's hand and said the spell everything went black.

…

Severus gaped when he saw that his timer showed zero when his eyes landed on a woman and a girl. Then he remembered his chivalry. And went to help them up.


	14. Chapter 14 String to your heart

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 9: Red-String-Of-Fate - The red string attached to your finger leads to your soulmate.  
Optional prompts:  
(AU) Squib

365 Drabbles: 195. Ambitious

Words: 496

Severus closed the door to his quarters, sighing in relief. Some of the kids were so cruel with him and they didn't respect his authority as a Professor. They were right in a way, he didn't belong here, at Hogwarts. The only reason he had been given the position of Potions Master was his ambition.

Severus Snape had always been an ambitious boy. He had dreamed of going to Hogwarts for a very long time, so when he had learnt that he was a squib, that he in fact could never go there, he had been devastated. But, the devastation had not been long. He had found a way to go there, his soulmate string. You see, he had noticed years before that his red string was incomplete and it got just a bit longer every year. Whether he had heard the others, including his parents, that the red string attached to your finger was long and it tied you with your soulmate and each time you got closer it glowed even brighter.

Well, his red string didn't do that. It had never glowed and it wasn't long at all. It was just like a ring with just a bit of rope hanging to it.

He had decided to use this to his advantage. That was the proof he was special, perhaps he could go to Hogwarts. And he knew that soulmates had their own powers so… they could give him a chance.

And they did. The Headmaster had accepted him upon finding out about his unusual string, telling Severus that he had never heard of something like this before and he was curious how would it go.

Lily had been very happy that her best friend was going to Hogwarts with her.

And now, years later he was so happy that he hadn't given up. That he had went to Hogwarts. Potions had always been his favourite subject and there was no wand needed. His soulmate powers were helping too so that was one class he had exceeded at. He had became a Potions Master and when the former Potions professor had retired, Severus had taken his place. But the kids behaved horribly with him, even if he was a very strict teacher. They didn't care how many paints they lost or the detentions. Just to make fun.

Still, he was happy because that was how he had met his soulmate, his other half; the string, one that only he could see, had started growing faster ever since he had been nineteen years old and after almost twelve years he couldn't see the other end anymore. At the sorting feast that year it had glowed brighter than ever before and he had met her, his other half, Hermione Granger. Severus had been horrified at first, his soulmate was a child!

But they had taken things slowly and now, eight years later there was no doubt that the two of them were perfect for each other.


	15. Chapter 15 Soulmate's potion

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 11: A potion or blood ritual reveals your soulmate.  
Optional Prompts:  
(song) Wherever You Will Go - The Calling

365 Drabbles: 19. Connection

For Butter.

Words: 606

Hermione looked at the Head Table and sighed.

"Could you be more obvious?"asked Harry from the side.

She looked at him, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

Harry shook his head.

"I can't believe you didn't notice. No, I cannot believe that he had not noticed yet. Or anyone else really. You've been staring at him for the last hour; you didn't even eat anything! Hermione, please. You have to let it go."

Hermione stood up and dragged Harry out of the Great Hall into an unused classroom.

"I can't Harry. I really cannot. You know if I could I would go with him wherever he leaves and whenever that may be. I want to be the one who makes those shadows in his disappear, I wanna go whenever he does, I want to be with him each day. And I know he loves me, I know he does. Did you see him? Ever since we broke up he looks like… "

"Someone died." Harry said.

And it was the truth. Severus Snape looked even more hollow and his looked like the eyes of a vampire. He couldn't manage on his own, not anymore, not after he had tasted the love cup.

"I don't understand why you broke up. He has no argument. I mean you are off age due the time turner usage, you know how to be sneaky so you can keep the relationship a secret, you made Ron and me to accept it and actually be okay with it. So? Why did you two break up? And so soon? You've just gotten together and I thought that things were going great."

Hermione sighed.

"They were. But do you know that in the Wizarding World there are soulmates? And you can find out who your soulmate is with the help of a potion or a blood ritual. But the ritual had been long forbidden. The potion is hard to make; it takes days. But in the end the process is simple. You have to put it over your left arm and after take three sips from what's left and make a wand movement. It's called the Soulmate's potion. And it writes down on your arm your soulmate's name. It's mandatory that couples do it before they start dating each other, less heartbreak when the real soulmate comes. Thing is that you don't have the same connection with the person that it is not your soulmate. You connect instantly with the other person. It happened in history to shed blood for this cause and this rule had been added."

"But you started dating first," said Harry, comprehension on his face."He broke up with you so you wouldn't need to use the potion. He's afraid of the result."

Hermione nodded.

"He is. And to be honest, I'm afraid too. But he has my heart. And I don't want to give up, to let go. I don't want to let him run away with love and hope. With heart."

"Then, what are you going to do?" her friend asked, even though he had a feeling.

"I'll use the potion. I want to know."

"But, what if it isn't him?"

Hermione smiled.

"He is. I'm certain of. I feel it in my heart. You'll see"

…

Three hours later Hermione stared at the name on her hand in wonder.

It was written Severus Snape.

She had been right. Her feelings were true. Now she just needed to convince him of it without showing the written name.

Also she had to put the potion back in his stores, less he see it missing and comes searching for it.


	16. Chapter 16 Switch

Assignment 1 Potion: Felix Felicis

Task: Write about someone being reckless.

Extra Prompts: 6. Word: Declare

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 8: When you turn a certain age, you swap bodies with your soulmate for one day of the year.

365 Drabbles: 138. Dungeon  
Word count: 603

Hermione was quite nervous. She was waiting her sixteen birthday, or rather the day she was going to make sixteen years of life. Due to her using the time turner that day was going to come much earlier than everyone was expecting.

That day qss important because she was going to find out who her soulmate was. In the Wizarding World every person had a soulmate, and you found out who he was the day you turned sixteen or, the day you had sixteen years of life, as it was her case. The catch was that it happened according to the girl's age, not the boy's.

Hermione had been curious to find out who her soulmate was ever since she had found out that soulmates existed. Sixteen couldn't come soon enough. She was a bit afraid, what if she didn't like her soulmate? Or what if it was someone who didn't like her?

But, concerns aside her curiosity had won in the end. When she had received the time-turner she had been told to use it wisely, to not overuse it, to be careful. But for once in her life Hermione had not listened what she had been told to do. She had used it too much on purpose so sixteen years of life to come quicker and she was going to find out who her soulmate was.

It wasn't the best thing to do, but she wanted to find that other half the books told her about.

Now, merely six months later, she was regretting that decision. Very much. But it was her fault. She had wanted to find her soulmate quicker than one must and she had been reckless and had used it too much. Way too much, she thought looking around her.

In her quest to have the right age she wanted to reset the time-turner for a few weeks but, she apparently had ended up setting it for few years. Apparently, because she was at the edge of the forbidden forest, another rule breaking- what was wrong with her?! ...and she was staring at younger versions of Harry's parents and...a younger version of her potions master. And he was cute, though she personality preferred the older version.

She went to Dumbledore and explained everything, asking him to help her to get back home in time to switch bodies with her soulmate. He had told her that it would take some time and meanwhile she could continue her studies in Hogwarts past.

It turned out that that some time had been exactly six months, time in which she and her potions professor had gotten quite close, both being the best in that field.

Hermione was dreading the next day, when time would come to switch and it wouldn't happen because of her curiosity.

The big surprise was that it happened. She did switch. As it was get soulmate was already born and breathing in the person of Severus Snape.

Both Hermione and Severus had been more than surprised, but it was a good surprise.

And do Hermione had found out how was it to be a Slytherin and how much pressure was put onto you.

Probably that was why when she had gotten back she made a point to try and befriend the dungeon's residents. One day could seem too little, but it really had changed her opinion.

And Severus you ask? They were indeed perfect for each other no matter how hard he had denied at the beginning. And she could declare it to the world,to the whole universe, that he was her other half, her soulmate.


	17. Chapter 17 Forever and always

Written for Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition

Team: Pride of Portree

CHASER 3 prompt: Cult Classics: The Matrix

Prompts Used:

5\. (word) bloodthirsty

9\. (word) incident

14\. (object) mirror

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Assignment 1 Muggle Art: Minimalism

Task #1: Write about a character distancing themselves emotionally from something else.

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 3: You are born with words on your arm which are the first words your soulmate says to you.  
Optional Prompts:  
(Word) Declare (AU) Mermaid

August Event: Out of this world challenge: Uranus

Prompts: (Word) Gravity  
(Character) Hermione Granger  
(Song) One Republic - Counting Stars

365 Drabbles: 225. Impossible

Word count: 2575

Betaed by Oni and Morna m

* * *

 **Forever and Always**

 _I love you Severus. Forever and always._

'Forever and always' were the very last words Hermione had ever said to him and the last words he said to her as well. Severus knew this. But he didn't know why they were written on his arm and why he was suddenly trapped in the body of a child. He didn't know where Hermione was and whether she was okay.

The last thing he remembered was placing his head in the restraining assembly of the guillotine and awaiting death. Moments later, he'd awoken as a child in a strange house.

As he thought about it, his memory started to get foggy and he couldn't remember things from his past. Rather, it seemed as though he was starting to remember things from another person's past instead. He was the Duke of York, Prince Consort to Queen Narcissa; a cruel and vain ruler. He had been sentenced to death for falling in love with his daughter's maidservant, Hermione.

' _My_ daughter?! That can't be right' Severus shook his head. He couldn't remember his daughter's name, which was ridiculous because he hadn't even hit puberty in the body he currently inhabited

The room started to swim, and Severus stumbled. As he blacked out, the last thing he heard was a young girl's voice-what was her name again?-saying that she loved him.

 _Forever and always._

Those two words echoed in his head when he woke a few hours later, but he couldn't figure out where he had heard them or who had said them. He looked at his arm and sighed. His mother had told him that his soulmate would say special words to him when he first met her, but Severus doubted that anyone in their right mind would say " _Forever and always"_ to someone they had only just met.

Severus hadn't been angry when Lily and James had gotten together. No, he was happy because he knew they were soulmates. James had said the same words that were written on her arm when they'd met in their first year. Despite the fact that she didn't consider him a friend any longer, he still cared about her. She had been his first friend, after all. It was easier to let the resentment of losing her go because he could feel in his heart that they weren't matched. There was someone else out there waiting for him.

He lost hope as the years passed, and started to close the doors to his heart. He wasn't going to find his soulmate soon, so why should he dare to hope? He made a point to be entirely unpleasant, but not because that was who he was or to maintain his role as a spy. No, he had to protect himself from his own emotions. If he didn't feel, he couldn't get hurt, right?

But if it was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong?

* * *

Hermione loved to count the stars. It helped her relax. She dreamed of things that couldn't be true and then the dreams turned into nightmares with evil queens and then she woke up. The stars were her only consolation. Them and the words written on her arm. _Forever and always._ Her parents had told her that they were the first words her soulmate would say to her when they met. When Professor McGonagall had visited to tell her she was a witch she had also said that in the Wizarding World these words were the way to recognise your soulmate.

But Hermione had her doubts. Who in their right mind would say those words at a first meeting?

Still she had hoped, but ...years had passed and nothing. Then she had started to build up walls around her heart. She didn't want to get hurt, to hope for something that may never happen. Soulmates found one another often, but what was the chance that she would be one of those who did find them.

She tried to bury herself in homework and books, to forget about it. Her world could be right without him, her soulmate. But, if it was right, why did it feel so wrong?

* * *

It wasn't the right thing after all.

Severus had started to have visions, dreams of another life, dreams of one girl that stole his heart while Hermione dreamed of a prince that fell in love with a mere servant.

And then they had met. On a Hogwarts corridor, past midnight, both of them awake, both of them counting stars, both of them trying to push their emotions away. They had met involuntarily, while both whispering the words written on their arms, word so familiar to the both of them.

 _Forever and always._

And then memories came in. And they kissed each other fiercely promising to never let go. If this time the Queen wasn't going to be a danger to them, accusing Hermione for stealing her husband, Voldemort was. But together they could face anything. Even the impossible reality where they were now. After all they had died. They knew that. And yet...they woke up here, centuries later, marked as soulmates. Such a world, everything was new to them, but at the same time familiar since in this version of reality they had always been there, where soulmates existed and everyone had one; and you were born with the first words your soulmate was ever going to say to you on his arm. He was ecstatic that his soulmate was Hermione, his love from the other world, his everything. He had always liked to believe that if soulmates did exist Hermione would be his.

Severus had remembered when he had first woken up as a child. He couldn't remember his daughter's name, or rather his memory had disappeared when he had tried to remember it, Cecilia.

And together they stood when Voldemort, with the last of his powers, had tried to kill them before Harry and the rest of the Order had time to intervene. They had whispered their love for each other _Forever and always_ just seconds before the green light hit them.

* * *

And they woke up together a beach in the middle of the night, looking at the stars.

"Forever and always,"they murmured upon seeing each other.

"At least this time, we're together," said Severus, hugging her tight.'At least I didn't have to watch you die' was left unsaid.

Hermione nodded,still trying to figure things out. The words on her arms were gone, so they definitely weren't in the same world as before, but also she could feel the magic in her so, it must be a similar world. She wondered how Harry and Ron were now, or how Cecilia had coped after hers and her father's death. She hadn't had the time to think of her ex-mistress and best friend in a long time. Both of them had promised that they would be friends forever, as Harry, Ron and her had done it too, but it seemed that forever wasn't like it was supposed to be.

Then she noticed the pearls from her neck and gasped. The pearls were a mermaid's pearls, the ones that could give a mere mortal or witch in her case, the power to transform in a mermaid. They were given only if the person who gave them was certain that the receiver was their true love. Otherwise their claim to the sea was forsaken. If it was proved that the love wasn't true, the mermaids and mermen who did it were banned from the sea forever.

"Severus," she started to say," look at my pearls."

He looked confused for a moment but then he noticed them too. And he sat up instantly.

"I'm…a...merman."he stated, staring at the stars.

"You don't know for sure. I could be a mermaid for all we know," she said smiling at him.

As it turned out he had been right. He _was_ a merman. That and the lack of soulmates was the only thing different from their world. But, she was a merman's true love, and that meant as much or maybe even more than being soulmates in the other.

They were together, that was all that mattered. And they hoped they always were going to be.

Severus and Hermione had retook their lives, but at the same time they were researching reasons as to why that happened to them. Why they woke up from one world from another?

Why?

* * *

 _Forever and always_

That seemed to be the key. The last words in a world were the first words in another. That was the rule that seemed to be in place.A complete different world from the ones he had been where wizards and witches lived together in harmony with muggles.

They had been together in many worlds until now, and everything was the same. Instead of dying they became another Severus and another Hermione. And each time was different, but the difference was that they could remember their past lived in the new world.

They still had questions, questions still needed answers. How did they get here? How come that they didn't remember anything from before? Why this world in particular? Why did they keep jumping from one version of reality to another?

They had just woken up him as an adult in his chambers at Hogwarts and she as a student. The last thing they both remembered was trying to escape from a muggle institution after breaking in to find out a weakness in their system. They had failed and they had been taken to the muggle leader who had ordered their death instantly.

He and Hermione were part of the group leaders of the resistance. Five years after Voldemort had been defeated a new danger was threatening to destroy the Wizarding World: an insane muggle inventor who had married an equally insane and bloodthirsty witch and together, they strove for world domination. They had created enchanted machines to help them defeat both muggles and wizards alike.

He and Hermione had been tasked to infiltrate one of the machines, to test the theory Harry had had; what if the machines weren't controlled anymore? What if they controlled the insane couple?

But they had been caught and the last thing that they had seen was a really bright light and they were gone.

Severus had not been highly disoriented upon waking up in his rooms as one would have expected.

After all it had happened before. Too many times before. But still, the gravity of the situation they had left the others in the other world... He wanted to shout and scream. He wanted to go back, not to be in this world, everything felt so wrong. Wizards and muggles had never gotten along. Only the fact that the machines had rebelled had brought them together to fight for freedom.

Severus wanted back because that had been the first reality where he had woken up near her in years. In all the others it had been so hard to find her. He had given up the thought that he would find her, closing his emotions, just waiting to die.

To be honest he had always had that fear, that one day he would wake up and everything would be just a dream, and he would wake up without her by his side. That was the reason he had decided to never get his hopes up, to control his emotions, so he could make it. He didn't know why he felt the need to do so. They were meant to be together.

Severus got up and started his morning routine. As he passed the mirror he got a shock. For the first time in years he looked older, like time had actually passed.

Then a knock on the door distracted his attention from the unmistakable white hair that seemed to glare at him through the mirror.

"Who is it?" he asked in his usual grumpy voice.

"Forever and always, "came a voice from outside and Severus smiled.

They had established those words as a password between them.

"Did you manage to find something?"

Hermione shook her head.

"No, and we still cannot remember our past here. I don't know how we will manage to do it."

Severus took her hand in his.

"Together, we'll make it together," he whispered.

…...…..

"Together," Severus murmured in his sleep.

"How is he?" asked Harry looking at the young woman that was sitting near his bed.

Cecilia sighed.

"No better. He is even worse. He doesn't even recognise me anymore. He is in another fantasy world each time I come to visit" she said tracing the words written on his arm. _Forever and always._

"I don't know if I can take it any longer. I have to leave, to get away from it."

Cecilia didn't want to do it, but she had to. After the incident that killed her mother she had lost her father too, trapped in his own mind, having adventure after adventure with her mother. Her heart broke each time she saw him, gone was the Potions Master who could make children cry. Gone was the Master Spy. Her father was gone. He didn't even recognise her any longer. She would have a different name each time she visited him.

But she couldn't do it any longer. She had to take a break, to give herself time to make a decision, what to do with him? There wasn't a cure for his mental illness, but there was a potion. One that could give a person their memory back, shortly before it killed them. It was both an antidote and a poison.

"Have you thought about it?" asked Harry, referring to the poison, well antidote.

"Yes, but I cannot. I just can't sentence him to death. I need to leave. To take a break. When I come back … I will see what needs to be done then."

Harry smiled sadly.

"Cecilia, are you sure?"he asked, though he knew the answer already."You know, we're always going to be here for you."

The girl nodded.

"I know. But right now, I just need to be alone."

And with one last glance at her father and at the words written on his arm she turned and left.

…..

Severus looked around confused. His chambers now looked like the hospital wing.

"We are in a hospital, Severus." Hermione said from his left.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't you remember, my love?"she asked and smiled at him sadly.

At her words memories flooded in. How she died in potions due to an accident, how he had wanted to make the student responsible pay for the incident that had cost him his wife's life and more importantly he remembered distancing himself from everyone, especially his daughter.

"It's time to let go Severus." she said.

"What if I don't want to let go?"he whispered.

"You must. For Cecilia. She needs her father to be there for her. I don't want her closing her emotions into herself. I will still be with you Severus, remember my promise? But you need to wake up."

Severus smiled and grabbed to kiss her one last time. She was right, his daughter, no, _their_ daughter needed him.

"Of course I remember." he said, pretending to be offended.

 _Forever and always_


	18. Chapter 18 Soulmate: feel your pain

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 14: You can feel pain when your soulmate feels pain.  
Optional prompts:

(Word) Moonlight  
(Setting) Hospital

365 Drabbles: 30. Cold

Words: 430

Hermione strolled down the deserted hall of the hospital. She couldn't sleep, she was too worried to fall asleep. Also Severus was in pain and she could feel it. It worried her because he usually closed the connection off so she wouldn't feel his pain, but tonight he had forgotten to. And he never ever forgot to do it no matter how hard she had tried to convince him.

Strange was that now that it happened she was asking herself why. He didn't respond to her subtle questioning, but she didn't really expect him to do it. After all he was in a Death Eater meeting.

The only time he closed of the soulmate bond that they shared. He knew that it was a high probability to be tortured and he didn't want her to feel his pain. But tonight… she had never felt so much pain before. It was good that their daughter was asleep. The three year old had been brought st the hospital two days prior to have a roughly checkup since she was often very ill and no potion seemed to help her. She had fallen asleep asking about her father, when he would return, leaving Hermione clueless as to what to answer. She didn't know it herself.

Hermione opened the window and let the cold air of December invigorate her. It was a clear night with full moon. The sky was beautiful. Her tears shone brightly in the moonlight. She wiped them furiously. She shouldn't cry, she needed to have faith, faith that he would come back. That he would keep his promise.

But still the pain she was feeling only intensified to the point she couldn't even breath.

That was when she took a decision. She was going to search for him and help him. She couldn't stand any longer. She couldn't stand to do nothing while her husband, her other half was tortured.

But first she had to get someone to look after their daughter.

As she turned she noticed movement in the hospital's yard and her heart skipped s beat when she realised that it was Severus. She also realised that pain she felt wasn't as powerful as before, but still it hurt.

She starting running towards the exit while shouting at a Healer to follow her.

She couldn't feel anything else but the pain through their connection. It was like he was closing everything from her, but she couldn't feel him, so it must have been a protection mechanism.

Hermione just hoped it wouldn't be too late. She couldn't lose him.


	19. Chapter 19 Just a touch

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 15: You realise someone is your soulmate when you touch them.  
Optional:  
(song) I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

365 Drabbles: 150. Gloves

Words: 402

Severus looked at his sleeping wife and sighed. Even after all these years he never ceased to be amazed that she had chosen him. That she was his wife and he got to sleep near her each night.

Sometimes, like tonight, he couldn't sleep, he just kept watching her, how content she looked by his side, snuggled into the pillow with her face toward him, a small smile gracing her lips. It was better than any dream he may have if he slept, the reality that was next to him….was overwhelming. He was thankful until the moon and back that they were together, that they had found each other. Or rather that she had been too stubborn to give him up.

After realising that Lily wasn't his soulmate, after many years of trying to feel something when touching her, he had given up upon the idea that he would find her, his other half.

To find your soulmate one must feel a connection with the person when you touch her for the first time. You just know. Severus had knew that Lily wasn't his soulmate and he had realised that James was her soulmate, but he hadn't given up because he hadn't thought any other girl would ever touch him.

But Hermione did,he thought with a smile. She was so beautiful, he could stay looking at her forever. If he closed his eyes he was already missing her lovely face. He loved her so much.

Albus had assigned her as his assistant because 'Severus, you need help'; that's what he said.

At that time Severus was wearing gloves, especially to protect himself from one's touch. If it wasn't skin to skin you could touch all you wanted, it didn't matter.

He had to admit, he had started to fancy her a bit even before discovering that she was his soulmate. Hermione had been so kind to him, she hadn't given up helping him despite the fact that he was moody and grumpy and he had behaved so horrible towards her.

Their touching had been accident, he had forgotten that he didn't have his gloves one when he bent down to pick up a vial at the same time she did, but now, looking at her beautiful face sleeping next to him, he didn't regret at all.

People were right: finding your soulmate was indeed magical. Just a touch changed everything.


	20. Chapter 20 Soulmate: share my talents

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

You share the same talents as your soulmate  
Optional prompts:  
Dialogue: "Do you have something to say?"

365 Drabbles: 79. Knife

Words: 450

Hermione looked at her husband and chuckled. No matter how much he pretended that he didn't like kids she knew he did. One doesn't stay up in the winter nights to make more potions for infirmary with a knife in one hand and a root in the other despite that the stocking was full and there were no requests. Despite the fact that now he was no longer a potions master, but the Headmaster.

He wanted then to have as many healing potions as they could; the detentions with the Carrow siblings were always harsh.

She hadn't gone with Harry and Ron, despite the fact that she was the oldest ( almost two years) and they needed her, she had had to stay with her soulmate, and that was Severus Snape.

One's soulmate's shares the same talents as the other half, bit in order to see it clearly you must have seventeen years. Last year she had seen it clearly. It explained how that she had always been so good at potions, why she had always wanted to impress him or why she had always had the need to defend him against her friends' ill words.

Then it explained why she was good at Dark Arts too, well at least at understanding the Dark Arts. She was good at Defense too, but toned it down because Harry was as good as her and he needed a place where to exceed on his own.

He hadn't taken it well. Nothing had happened when he had made seventeen years of age, because she hadn't been born yet. But once she had the necessary years his eyes opened too.

Harry and Ron had understood her need, after all they had taken their soulmates, their wives with them in their quest. Also they trusted her judgement that he wasn't evil, despite the fact that he had killed Dumbledore.

Now, a year later, he had accepted the fact that they were soulmates and that she wanted to be with him. Now, they were in love. And they had married three months prior, not wanting to risk dying in the upcoming war without doing so.

She continued to look at him, a smile on her face.

Severus noticed her staring and stopped his work.

"Do you have something to say, Miss Granger? "he asked with a smirk. She never ceased to amaze him. Even when he was dead tired, she managed to make him smile.

She shook her head.

"Mrs. Snape, please. I'm married,"she said with a smirk of her own.

Then she added "Come to sleep, Severus. It's late. You can finish tomorrow. " And for once he relented and followed her lead to the bedroom.


	21. Chapter 21 Soulmate : we are one

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 18: You can talk to your soulmate in your mind.  
Optional prompts  
(word) Overmorrow

365 Drabbles: 286 . Worthless

Words: 400

It is said that you can speak with your soulmate in your mind, that you share one, mind, one soul and that it happens when you first kiss. You and your soulmate become one.

That didn't happen. His first kiss with Hermione was special, but nothing had happened. Nothing to indicate that she could be his soulmates. And soulmates were such a rare thing anyway. The last persons that were soulmates in this world were Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel.

It didn't matter for Severus though. He had known that Hermione was the one for him, the only one. She made him whole. And no matter how hard he had tried to deny it he had felt it from their first kiss.

And yet, nothing had prepared him for his wedding day. The kiss that they had shared as man and wife had been magical. Like a light had engulfed them and they were the only people in the world. And then she had felt her. Truly and wholly. And she had felt the same. He had gotten to see all her memories, her feelings and she had gotten to see his miserable childhood and how worthless his father had made him to feel. And how the Marauders had unknowingly continued his legacy.

Since that they their minds had become one. They could talk with one another, they could meet their and discuss leaving their bodies in a dream state and they could protect themselves better from Legimancy attacks. They had kept it a secret though. So even now, years later, only their closed ones knew that they shared a soulmate bond.

They had perfected the ability over time,now they didn't stop to talk with each other or stare at each other while conversing in their mind.

It had been hard at the beginning to hide, but now talking like this was their second nature. Though sometimes their children complained that they were always stuck in their own world.

" _You're thinking again, my love. I cannot sleep if you think so loud."_ Said Hermione in her mind " _Come back to sleep."_ She said and beckoned him to return in bed.

Severus came and put his arms around her. He could feel her falling asleep. How he loved her! She was his everything! His days and nights, his tomorrow, overmorow, his forever.

And he was never going to let her go.


	22. Chapter 22 Soulmate: share my dreams

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 22: You meet your soulmate in your dreams.  
Optional:  
[Dialogue] "I'll miss you when I wake up!"

365 Drabbles: 23. Dreamcatcher

Words: 305

Hermione looked at the moon and sighed.

"Are you alright, my love?" asked a worried voice from behind her.

She spun around and smiled. Severus always managed to make her smile. That's why she loved the night so much, because that was the time when she met with him, when she had met him for the first time, in her dreams.

You see, it was said that you would find soulmate in your dreams and something will tie you to him forever.

And she had found him. Severus was amazing. She loved him so much and he loved her in return. He never asked for anything. Not as all those nobles and princes who wanted her for her looks and to bear their children.

He genuinely loved her for who she was, a bookish princess, that loved freedom.

They had met each night ever since the first contact, they had shared every dream. She often wished to have a dreamcatcher so she wouldn't forget anything that she dreamed.

And each night they remained together in their dream house, dancing in the moonlight or reading or really just sleeping next to each other. Sometimes they wished they could stay there forever.

But they couldn't. He had a kingdom to rule and she had a duty to her parents, she had to marry and help their small town to survive the war that they had just passed.

Severus had assured her he would marry her and that he would help her town.

"It's almost time to wake up. The moon is fading."she whispered.

"I know, " Severus said and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll miss you when I wake up."he murmured in her ear, kissing her hair.

Hermione smiled.

"Not as much as I'll miss you, Severus."

He just laughed and kissed her mouth instead.


	23. Chapter 23 Soulmate: complete me forever

Note: I'm aging the characters so Hermione would be off age and not Severus' student to fit in the challenge's rules. So Albus'death and blackened hand will take place two years later.

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 26: Your soulmate mark is only half complete and it completes itself when you spend time with your soulmate.  
Optional Prompts:  
(Object) Diamond

365 Drabbles: 360. Villain

Word count : 768

Hermione had thought that she would go to University after finishing Hogwarts or, that she would take an apprenticeship with a Master. Her preferences were Potions,Charms, Transfiguration and Arithmancy. Actually, she had wanted to become a Potions Mistress ever since that first Potions Lesson; professor Snape had charmed her with his speech, making her completely in love with the subject.

She hadn't expected the Headmaster's request to become Professor Snape's assistant. The twenty one years old witch (due to time- turner use) had been quite shocked at first; Severus Snape had never had an assistant in all his years as a teacher and she couldn't see him asking for one now. But apparently, the Headmaster had convinced him that he will need one this year with Dolores Umbridge coming to Hogwarts as Defense against the Dark Arts professor. The Ministry hadn't believed Harry when he had told them about Voldemort's return.

Hermione was both enthusiast and sad about the situation. She had hoped that she would manage to find her soulmate after she left Hogwarts.

You see, one was born with half a mark and it completed itself after spending time with your soulmate. That's how you found each other. Harry and Ron both had found their soulmates. And really everyone she knew, Bill had found Fleur, Remus had found Tonks, Charlie Anäis; everyone but her and Sirius. Both were still waiting. But while his mark was the same as in the day he had been born hers had changed over her time at Hogwarts. Initially it had been half a parchment and something, but now it was an almost full parchment and something.

So it was clear that her soulmate had been at Hogwarts at the same time as her, but they hadn't spent so much time together. But who he was? She hadn't managed to find out.

Anyway she was grateful that the Headmaster had thought about her;though she worried about him. His hand was becoming more damaged by day.

….

Five months later Hermione was able to see that that something was a cauldron and a full parchment.

She still hadn't been able to figure out who her soulmate was, everything was almost the same, but now she spent a little more time...the only person….Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. Severus! He was the change. Now she spent more time with him than before! How could she had been so stupid! How come that she hadn't noticed all this years! She run back to his rooms and found him exactly as she had left him: grading papers. She was out of breath and couldn't form coherent thoughts.

"Severus," she started, but he motioned for her to be silent.

"You figured it out," he said and stood up from his chair.

"What?!"she exclaimed.

"You figured it out that I'm your soulmate, "he repeated and pulled up his sleeve for her to see a full parchment and an almost completed cauldron. A perfect match.

"You knew? Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

Severus sighed.

"Because I didn't want to tie you to me. Believe it or not miss Granger you've come to mean the world to me these past months. You waited for me each time after Death Eater meetings, tended my wounds, smiled at me; no one had ever smiled at me the way you do. It will come a time this year when everyone will think that I'm the villain, and everyone will hate me. I didn't want to put you in the situation to choose and to pretend. "

Hermione went over the room and hugged him.

"But there's no choice. Your my soulmate and I'll stand by you. They will understand and if they don't they will see the truth one day."

Severus smiled and pulled from her hug. He bent over his desk and took a box. He opened it and inside Hermione could see the biggest diamond she had ever saw shaped in the form of a ring. It was a diamond ring alright.

"This was given to me by my mother; she made me promise to give it to my soulmate. It's a promise Hermione, that I'll never leave you. I'll stay with you how long you wish me too."

Hermione took it and slipped it on her finger.

"Forever, Severus. I want you forever. You're my other half,"and with that Hermione did what she had always wanted to. She kissed him on the lips and wrapped her arms around him.

"Then I'll stay forever," he whispered on her mouth, before kissing her again.


	24. Chapter 24

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 10: You have a mark on your body. Your soulmate will have a matching mark.

365 Drabbles: Husband.

Words: 401

Severus had never thought that he would ever find his soulmate. Long time ago he had believed that Lily was that one person who completed him, but it turned out that wasn't the truth. She was destined to complete other's life. Not his. And he was left all alone. Forgotten.

Severus had been heartbroken to find out that her soulmate mark was matched by the one that belonged to James Potter. And even more so when he had realised that she had always known that he wasn't her soulmate and that was the reason she had never wanted to show him her mark. She knew that their soulmate marks were different. But he had never understood was why she hadn't told him the truth. Why didn't she tell him that their soulmates mark were different? Why did she lead him on?

He could have searched for someone who had a mark as his own. For his true soulmate. But she had let him believe…

Not that he would have found her, his soulmate. She wouldn't have been born yet.

He had lost hope to find someone to have a matching mark, to find someone that had an otter and a doe intertwined in a heart. And after Albus had requested him to kill him; he had stopped searching.

It was months later, at the Great Battle , when he had been saved by an otter Patronus from an army of Dementors, that he had found her. And the answer to his permanent question: 'who is my soulmate?' was a shocking one. Hermione Jean Granger. The Gryffindor know-it-all and Harry Potter's best friend was his soulmate. He had noticed the mark in her arm right away. It was identical to his own and by the look in her eyes she knew that already.

….

Hermione smiled at her husband. He was lost in thought looking at their wedding picture. She had found out that he was her soulmate when he had brought the sword to Harry; she had realised in seconds after seeing his Patronus. The doe was identical to the the one on her arm.

And ever since she had wanted to save him, to find out the truth.

"I love you, my dear wife," his voice came from behind.

Hermione turned and smiled again.

"And I love you, my husband," she said, tracing with her fingers the doe on his arms.


	25. Chapter 25

Augusta Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 31: free

Words: 381

Hermione's world had always been in black and white. She had never known why though. Her parents had taken her to many doctors to try and figure things out, but to no avail. Her world continued to be black and white.

She had often longed to see the colors, just as her parents did, just like everyone else. But she couldn't. No matter how hard she wished the black of the sky never turned blue.

Before her twelfth birthday an old lady, professor Minerva McGonagall had said that she was called, she had finally found out the truth, the reason she only saw two colours. The reason she was different and why she could do weird things happen.

She was a witch. That was why. She was part of a Magical Community where everyone had a soulmate and everyone saw in black and white, just like her, before kissing for the first time one's soulmate. After the first kiss shared with your one true love,you can see the wonder of the colours.

Hermione had been excited to find out all that, the only drawback was the fact that you had to kiss your soulmate on the lips to see the colours. True love's kiss, the most powerful magical of all. The professor had said that she shouldn't worry since she would be instantly attracted to him.

…

Thinking back, Hermione realised that she had been attracted to Severus, just that she hadn't noticed. After the war though, that attraction had grew to the point she had felt the psychical need to kiss him.

But she had retained, not wanting to scare him away. Little had she known that he had felt the same. After working together for months to get Hogwarts back to his former glory, he had asked her out.

That night had been magical. He had taken her to the Astronomy tower and they had had a picnic under stara. They had talked a lot. And after he had told her everything about his life and she about hers, they had bent simultaneously into a kiss. It had been...she had no words to describe the feeling.

And her whole world was full of colour.

She had found her soulmate that night, the one and only Severus Snape..


	26. Chapter 26

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 12: You are born with a place and time on your skin and nothing.

365 Drabbles:

Word count: 338.

"What is the meaning of these words?"Severus had asked his mother long time ago, when he was a child.

"This is the place where you are going to find your soulmate, my dear child and the time where she will appear."

He had asked her then were was the Astronomy tower. He had been sad to find out that it was a place at Hogwarts, a place that he was going to see only when he was eleven.

Severus had always knew that Lily wasn't his soulmate, he had met her in a park after all. And he had truly gotten to know her at her house. His mother had said that the place could mean two things: one where you literally meet the person in the place and two when you got to really know the person.

Unfortunately for him, it was the later.

Severus had gone to the Astronomy tower every night ever since his first night at Hogwarts. But nobody had come to meet him at that hour. He had gone for years there, looking at the stars and hoping that his soulmate will come. But she never did.

….

Hermione hadn't known what the place and date written on her arms had meant until she had met professor McGonagall when she was eleven.

She had been so happy to find out that she had a soulmate. Hermione had asked the professor to let her break curfew and go to the Astronomy tower every night to see if her soulmate was there. The professor said that she couldn't allow that, not every night at least.

So Hermione went only few days a week and each night she saw Professor Snape there. She wasn't stupid. Hermione has realised that he was her soulmate, but...she had never had the courage to tell him.

….

"Well, at least not until few years had passed."Hermione thought out loud, forgetting herself.

"What?" Severus asked his wife, startled by her outburst.

She just chuckled and smiled at him.


	27. Chapter 27

August Event: Romance Awareness Challenge

Day 13: You have a compass on your arm that leads you to your soulmate.

365 Drabbles:

Word count: 343

Severus had always thought that it was weird to have a compass on your arm. Extremely so. But to have a broken compass was even weirder. His compass didn't move or point out directions at all.

It was said that you could find your soulmate, your other half with that compass' help. It was especially there to lead you to the one that you were meant to be. Except his had never moved at all in all in nineteen years of life.

Severus had been so jealous when Lily's compass had led her to James had. But at the same time he was relieved to find out that he wasn't the only one who had a weird compass at least. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had the same problem as he did.

They had been called the weird trio. But he didn't care. He was thankful he had gotten such good friends like those two. Even James was a good friend, when he wasn't busy staring at Lily.

They had remained his friends even after he had been sorted into Slytherin. His house didn't like him very much, beside the fact that apparently he had no soulmate, he was also friends with five Gryffindors.

His 'weirdness' had ended exactly on 19 September 1979. And that was the moment when he had realised just why his compass hadn't lead him to anyone. That anyone hadn't been born yet. His soulmate was nineteen years younger than him. He had told his discovery to the other two and they had started laughing. Apparently they had told him the same thing few years prior when Remus'soulmate had been born, the compass taking him to Sirius' cousin, little Dora.

Severus had followed the compass. He had made a point to cover it. He didn't want to find his soulmate as a child.

….

But nineteen years later, he had given in and he had realised that his soulmate had been right under his nose for many years. Student for seven and assistant for one year: Hermione Jean Granger.


	28. Chapter 28 Light

Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition

Pride of Portree

Chaser three: 1970's: You Light Up My Life — Debby Boone

Optional prompts:

2\. (word) blend

3\. (object) ring

9\. (emotion) fear

365 Drabbles: 73. blend

Words: 1669

Author's Note: AU.

Hermione is very different from canon. She doesn't become our Hermione until she becomes a mother. Remember this is a different world, much darker than the canon. She had no reason to fight until Alys appeared.

Betaed by Oni,Lia and Tee! Thank you!

* * *

 _Light_

 _So many nights I'd sit by my window_  
 _Waiting for someone to sing me his song..._

Hermione woke with a start. She'd dreamed about him again. She wondered just how many nights his memory would continue to haunt her. Was she bound to have the same dream again and again for the rest of her life? Wasn't it enough that she lived each day with the fear of the war expanding to their region as well?

This never-ending war between machines and humans; it felt like all the light from the world was on the brink of disappearing.

If the war came to her door, she would be defenceless. A young woman, living alone in a little house near the sea...what could she do?

The war had destroyed her family. Her parents were both military doctors and had been killed when a bomb had detonated while they were treating patients in the north of the country. The last time she had seen them alive was over two years ago; when she had heard the news she had cried until she couldn't anymore. But it had been different. She still had Severus, she still had her husband. He had been the light of her life. But now—now... That day, four months ago, when she had heard from the people who still dared to keep those wretched television machines in their homes how Severus had been executed.

Hermione felt tears building up in her eyes. They had been so happy together, so content. She had finally found her home in his arms, and it had been brutally taken from her again.

She lounged gloomily on the sofa in front of the window. On a whim, she opened it and looked out at the sea; the darkness of sky and water seemed to blend together. The moon hung high in the sky and the stars were beautiful.

Hermione hated being afraid, but she couldn't help it. The future was uncertain. Fear had been her only companion ever since Severus had died.

She fell asleep staring at the sky, thinking about how much she wished to hear his voice again.

" _Hermione, Hermione," a voice called in the dark._

 _"Severus?" she whispered and searched for a light to see by._

 _Then she saw it. She was blinded by a bright, shining light, which grew from a tiny speck, overwhelming the darkness that surrounded her._

 _"Mummy! Mummy!" A child's voice could be heard calling for her and Hermione felt the need to reach towards it._

 _"Hermione!" Severus' voice said again and this time seemed closer, behind her. She turned around and saw him, looking exactly as the day she had last seen him._

 _"Severus," she said and went closer, a hand raised to touch his face, only for him to disappear. "Where are you?"_

 _"Right here," he said and touched her shoulder. She turned again and wanted to hug him, but he stopped her._

 _"You can't, my love. I'm just a dream. I am not really here."_

 _"I missed you!" she cried, desperately wishing to touch him."I am afraid Severus. I really am. I don't know what I should do. If they come…"_

 _Severus put a finger to her lips to silence her._

 _"You must be strong, my love. You have many reasons for it to be so; but you have all the motivation in the world right here," he said and put a hand on her belly._

 _"Keep our daughter safe, my love," he murmured, planting a featherlight ghostly kiss on her lips."And take care of yourself as well." Then he disappeared, leaving her alone once more._

 _The she heard it again._

 _"Mummy, mummy!"_

 _It was like a song in her heart._

* * *

Hermione woke up with start and placed her hands on her abdomen. A tiny flutter pushed back as if in reply.

That was the day everything changed for one Hermione Jean Snape.

* * *

 _Several years later..._

The war was still going strong; the fight between machines and the humans who had created them still continued and the world was getting darker and darker by each passing day. But that didn't matter for Hermione any longer. She wasn't afraid anymore. She had someone else to look after.

"Mummy! Look what I've drawn!" Her daughter shouted, making Hermione smile.

She was a mother. Her life wasn't her own anymore. Her daughter needed her to be strong, there was no place for fear. What was fear anyway? Just an emotion; it was normal as long it didn't control her. You had to control it. And control it she did.

Hermione had thought that she would never see her husband again and that the name of Snape was going to die with her, but then the little miracle that now sat in her lap had appeared.

She wasn't alone anymore. And as each day passed, Alys resembled her father more and more. Hermione had gotten her second chance; she had a _home_ now, not just a house.

A reason to fight.

* * *

Alys had given her the necessary strength to keep going; she was _Hermione's light._ All her efforts were to somehow keep her daughter safe. In the years that had passed since she had dreamed of Severus, she had never stopped searching for a way to change the world. Her daughter need a safe place to grow up. It was complicated, but she had finally found a way.

In a world where technology ruled and the machines were constantly enslaving and attacking humanity, the key was to reverse everything that had happened. She knew she couldn't change the progression of time, but she _could_ still change the world. She had found out from her research that her universe was only one of many. All she had to do was shift her world to the same timeline as another universe that didn't have the same problems and with a bit of quantum meddling on her part, she could copy the history of the world she had chosen. And yes, maybe spacetime would be tweaked a bit as well. But that was secondary. First she had to find a way to control the position of the Earth's core and reposition it to another timeline.

But it was hard to take care of her daughter and change the entire world, literally. Alys had been a great help as she'd grown older, but there were still many things she couldn't do.

"Mum! I think I found the solution."

"What?"

Alys closed the notebook of equations and notes she was holding, tears in her eyes, and tucked her pen inside the spiral binding.

"You've always said I look just like my father. That I sing his song for you. I am his daughter as much as I am yours. Your light."

Hermione stood up, confused.

"Of course you are. I'd do anything for you; you give me the hope to carry on."

Alys was crying and staring through the window as though she couldn't bear to look at her mother.

"I remember now. Why you looked at me like that. Why you held me like there was a tomorrow to look forward to."

"Alys, what are you talking about?"

"I'm saying you will succeed, Mum. Your determination really changed it. Just...that it changed everything else as well." Alys pulled out a photo that she'd been working on and handed it to her mother. "Look at this picture. We're supposed to be here together. But look! After I work my calculations, I am not in it any longer! Don't worry, though. Even though I can't tell you the details, I know that I will be safe."

Hermione started crying. She didn't understand, all the calculations—all her...plans…

It was all for her beloved daughter. For her to be safe.

"It makes sense that things would shuffle around when you rewrite the world, Mum. The universe has to make sense, but it still keeps you. You just get... _redrawn_ afterward. "

"Then I'm not doing it! I won't lose you!" Hermione couldn't believe it. What was the point of all the years spent researching and sneaking into the robots' database and studying endlessly if in the end her daughter was going to disappear? It must be wrong, but how could everything so right be wrong? Wasn't saving the world by rewriting it a good thing? She didn't know any longer.

"Mum. Look at me. You will always be _my mother_. No matter what world we copy. We're in this together. If I can remember a future life that we still have to make, then you will remember this life, _our_ life. If we don't do this, we're bound to die as the war spreads. The robots do not tire. They will never stop."

Hermione nodded.

"I love you, you are the most precious in the world for me. And no matter what, I'll find you."

Alys smiled. "You already did."

* * *

 _Many many years in the past, copied world..._

"Miss Watson, there is one more fan for you to meet," The security guard said.

Hermione smiled and shook the girl's hand. "Hello! I'm Emma! Nice to meet you!"

The girl looked up and Hermione's heart stopped.

"I'm Alys Light and it's an absolute honour to meet you! You are my favourite—"

Hermione didn't let her finish; she jumped and hugged Alys until the poor girl could barely breathe.

"—actress." Alys finished, gasping as she finally took a breath.

Hermione squeezed her like her life depended on it because it actually did. She had waited all her life in this world to find her light again.

Hermione looked at the ring on her finger and sighed. If only Severus was here.

Alys pulled out of the hug and smiled. "I'm so happy that I finally got to meet you today!"

"Yes, and I'm happy to have met you, Miss Light." Hermione said. Alys had been right. They would meet again one way or another. They would always be mother and daughter, together again.


End file.
